Sultan Qaytbay was a prolific builder
of various institutions in Egypt during his reign, much like al-Nasir Muhammad
in the fourteenth century. In fact, some eighty-five structures have been
attributed to him in Syria, Palestine, Mecca, Alexandria and Cairo . His reign was long
enough to allow specific styles to develop in the various important monuments
that he sponsored. This was a period of consolidation, however, rather than
innovation, when domestic ideas of architecture played a more significant part
than did foreign ideas.
This was a golden age of stone carving when
architecture, rather than being gigantic, tended towards refinement. Particularly
on facades, marble work also played a prominent role in decoration.
Not
all of the several structures that comprised Qaytbay's complex have survived,
though the best preserved is the mosque, which also contained a madrasa together with the founder's
mausoleum. It has two free standing facades, and is actually a rather small
structure relative to many other complexes.
To the left of the
portal is a Sabil –Kuttab, and on the right is
a minaret. Rising from the structure on the southeast side is a small but
magnificent mausoleum dome. Its surface is adorned with a carved straight-lined
star pattern superimposed on another carved network of undulating arabesques.